This invention generally relates to systems and methods for detecting and correcting image quality defects in one or more pages of a print job, prior to printing the print job on a selected printer.
Detection, and the subsequent correction, of image quality defects ensures the production of quality printed images. There are various existing approaches for detecting image quality defects in printed images. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,377,758 by OuYang, et al., entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ANALYZING IMAGING PROBLEMS filed Apr. 23, 2002, describes a method and a system for analyzing image quality by printing an image, scanning the printed image and comparing the scanned image and the original image on a pixel by pixel basis to detect image quality defects.
Further, systems have been described that allow image quality defects to be shown in a rendered page image prior to printing the page image on a printer that would result in such image quality defects in the printed output. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20080137914 by Rajinderjeet S. Minhas, entitled PRINTER JOB VISUALIZATION filed Dec. 7, 2006, describes a system for visualizing a page image that includes a page image simulator which applies a print defect model associated with a specific printer to page image data to generate a simulated page image of the page as it would likely appear if the page image were printed on the specific printer. The system also includes a display in communication with the page image simulator for displaying the simulated page image.
The above approaches can provide substantial improvements in image quality and image consistency; however, each has its respective deficiencies. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,377,758 requires that a user print and scan an image before image quality defects specific to the printer for the specific image may be detected. Such an approach is not feasible for performing image quality defect management of large print jobs and moreover requires physical access to the printer. For example, printing an image before image quality defects specific to the printer for the specific image can be detected, rather than allowing the user to assess the image quality before printing the image, wastes paper as well as other valuable printer resources for those printed pages that do not meet the user's image quality requirements. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20080137914 allows a user to view rendered soft images that contain image quality defects specific to a printer for a specific image, without printing. However, the user is required to manually view each, i.e., every, image in a print job and make a manual decision regarding whether the image quality is acceptable. An approach that requires such user interaction for each printed image is also not feasible for performing image quality defect management of large print jobs.